Joshua 12:7 - Meaning and Application

Here we have a short summary of Joshua’s conquests.

The first thing noted is the limits of the land he conquered. It lay between the Jordan River on the east and the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and it stretched from Baal-gad near Lebanon in the north to Halak, on the edge of Edom in the south (Joshua 12:7). Numbers 34:2 and following gives the borders in more detail. Even this brief description is enough to show that God had kept his word and had given Israel the land he promised through Moses, if only they had held it by faithful obedience.

The next point is the different kinds of land found there, which made it both pleasant and fruitful (Joshua 12:8). There were mountains, but not harsh, rocky ones that frighten travelers and help no one. Instead, there were fruitful hills that “yield precious things” (Deuteronomy 33:15), beautiful to look at and useful to their owners. There were valleys, too, not wet and empty, but covered with grain (Psalm 65:13). There were plains and springs to water them, and even in that rich land there were wilderness areas, or forests, which were less settled than other places, though they still held towns and houses and made the richer parts stand out more clearly.

The chapter also names the nations that had once lived there, such as the Hittites, Amorites, and Canaanites. All of them came from Canaan, the cursed son of Ham (Genesis 10:15-18). They are called seven nations in Deuteronomy 7:1, and seven are listed there, but only six are named here. The Girgashites are either not counted separately, or they had joined with another nation, or, as Jewish tradition says, they withdrew to Africa when Israel came under Joshua, seeing that resistance would be useless. For that reason, they are not named among the peoples Joshua defeated.

Finally, the chapter gives a list of the kings Joshua and Israel defeated, some in open battle and others in their own cities, thirty-one in all. They are named and counted in what seems to be the order of their defeat, beginning with the kings of Jericho and Ai, then the king of Jerusalem and the southern kings who joined him, and then the northern alliance. This shows how rich Canaan once was, since it could support so many kingdoms, and so many rulers chose to crowd into it rather than spread out into other lands where there might have been more space, but not the same abundance and delight. Yet today it is one of the most barren and useless countries in the world, showing the effect of the curse upon it after its people rejected Christ and his gospel, as Moses foretold (Deuteronomy 29:23).

It also shows how small the ambitions of those kings were. Each was content to rule one city and the towns around it, and none of them, so far as we know, tried to take over the rest. Still, when danger came, they joined together for their common defense. Yet their power seems to have been very strong, since their subjects were completely under their control as tenants and dependents. Above all, this record shows God’s great kindness to Israel in giving them victory over all these kings and all these kingdoms, and in laying on them the duty to obey his statutes and keep his laws (Psalm 105:44-45).

These thirty-one kingdoms were to be divided among nine tribes and a half of Israel. Judah received Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, Eglon, Debir, Arad, Libnah, and Adullam, eight in all, besides part of Jerusalem and part of Geder. Benjamin received Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem, Makkedah, Beth-el, and the nations of Gilgal, six in all. Simeon received Hormah and part of Geder. Ephraim received Gezer and Tirzah. Manasseh, the half-tribe, received Tappuah and Hepher, Taanach and Megiddo. Asher received Aphek and Achshaph. Zebulun received Lasharon, Shimron-meron, and Jokneam. Naphtali received Madon, Hazor, and Kedesh. Issachar received Dor. These were some of the great kings God struck down, for his mercy endures forever, and he gave their land as an inheritance to Israel his servant, for his mercy endures forever (Psalm 136:17 and following).